Many surgical procedures entail the use of sutures to repair tissue. A suture is passed through the tissue and secured. The tissue to be repaired often needs to be manipulated or grasped in order to properly position the sutures.
The surgeon repairing the tissue needs to attach sutures both quickly and accurately. The sutures need to be attached to tissue with causing a minimum amount of fatigue to the surgeon. There are prior art devices used to facilitate the process of attaching sutures to tissue.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,461 (Caspari et al) discloses a method for suturing tissue. A suture passer having a pair of opposed jaws is used by a surgeon. A suture passes through a tube until it reaches the lower jaw. A needle in the lower jaw of the instrument passes through an aperture in the upper jaw. The jaws are manipulated to grasp the tissue to be sutured.
Another prior art device is disclosed by Fukuda et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,009). Fukuda et al discloses a suture guide having a pair of opposed jaws. The upper jaw has a forked end formed by a slot and aperture. The suture attached to a needle passes through the top jaw and is deflected into a container in the lower jaw for containing the needle with the suture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,395 (Yeung) discloses a suture device having a suture delivery needle and a suture receiving needle. A shaped memory needle initially is held by the delivery needle but is manipulated to extend into the receiving needle.
There is a need for a suture delivery device that manipulates the tissue to be sutured and allows for accurate suture passage.
It is an object of the invention to provide a arthroscopic or open suture passer that has a pair of opposed jaws for manipulating the tissue to be sutured and providing a guide for a needle attached to the suture.
It is another object of the invention to provide an arthroscopic or open suture passer that allows a surgeon to quickly and accurately pass a suture through tissue.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a suture passer that reduces fatigue for the surgeon performing an operation involving sutures.
It is another object of the invention to provide a suture passer which is easy for a surgeon to use and operate.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reviewing the disclosure of the invention.
The suture passer of the invention has a pair of opposed jaws. The lower jaw is formed by a hollow tube having its end turned upwardly to face the upper jaw. The hollow tube preferably extends from the lower jaw to a pair of handles. The tube can terminate anywhere along the length of the lower jaw. An upper jaw is hinged to the tube and provides a guide for a needle. The handles are used for the surgeon to grasp the device and to manipulate the jaws.
The handles are used to manipulate the jaws to grasp the tissue between them. Once tissue is grasped, a needle is passed through the guide of the upper jaw and tissue and into the open end of the lower jaw tube. The needle is deflected within the lower jaw and extends through the tube. The needle is long and flexible enough to be deflected out of the grasper or retained in the tube. In place of a tube, the lower jaw may have a slot retaining the needle. If retained in the tube or by the jaw, the suture passer is removed and the surgeon then accesses the needle.